


Hollywood Peril

by ArtificialWick



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 12:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12457353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtificialWick/pseuds/ArtificialWick
Summary: A little one-shot about a Hollywood queen who’s lost her shine, or thinks she has. Luckily, there’s someone who can help her with that.





	Hollywood Peril

**Author's Note:**

> Original A/N posted on January 29th 2017:  
> A little one-shot about a Hollywood queen who’s lost her shine, or thinks she has. Luckily, there’s someone who can help her with that. The story is focused on Alaska and Alyssa’s friendship as professional actresses. There’s also an Easter egg in here for fans of What ever happened to Baby Jane?
> 
> The story was written by Frida and edited by Wick. We sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Feedback is as always well appreciated! xoxo Frida and Wick

“They need you on set Miss Edwards!” a shy little stagehand called into her trailer, peeking his head in through the door, only to be violently pushed out by Miss Edwards throwing a glass vase at him, narrowly missing his head.

“Don’t fuck with me fellas! I’m ain’t going back out there! I’m not!” she yelled at him. “I am Miss Alyssa Edwards! I am a woman of grace and dignity; I will not go out there and do those vile things that Director Ru wants me to! It’s filthy and as the good Lord is my shepherd, I will not do it!”

She fell back on her plush, velvet loveseat, her hand on her forehead, breathing hard. She was a high class actress and would not stoop to do such dirty things on camera like dressing in scantily dresses and saying such vulgar words like the younger actresses of the day.

The stagehand vanished behind the door, which fell to a close on its own behind him as he went. Wrapping her plush robe around her tightly, she trotted across the room and sat down at her vanity, the light cast upon her face and she fixed her makeup and her hair.

Miss Edwards was one of the finest actresses of her time, having done many movies and gained many awards, every director wanted her for who she was! An enigma! A majestic lady with a mind of her own, stubborn but a delight. However, now it seemed like the times were changing and new, younger, fresher faced beautiful girls all wanted to be actresses. This, in turn caused the older dolls to be cast aside and cast as understudies.

Now, Miss Edwards didn’t call herself old and didn’t like to think of herself that way either. She was simply well-established. She had never been one to give up, she would fight to stay in the industry that she had given her life to. She had been in front of a camera since she could walk, and she wasn’t going to let no sissy-faced pretty girl take her place!

She was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard a knock at her trailer door. She poised herself to grab something to throw in case it was the stagehand again, whom she was growing rather annoyed with. Luckily, it was merely Alaska, one of her dearest friends.

“Howdy do Alyssa, owwhhh!” She strutted in, blonde curls bouncing off her shoulders, a tell-tale smirk on her face. Alyssa always wondered how she had become friends with the young, libertine rebel. Normally she always saw the new actresses as a threat to her own career and deemed that they were nothing but vulgar, but there was something about Alaska, despite her deviant and sexual nature, that just made Alyssa feel comfortable.

Maybe it was the way she held herself, the way she laughed and seemed to behave less vindictive. Sure, she thought of herself as the best actress in Hollywood as well but, she respected the… ‘older’ actresses all the same. Alyssa liked that a lot about her.

“Oh, Alaska!” Alyssa fell back in her chair dramatically, never losing her flare, even when the cameras weren’t present and filming. “It’s been awful! All these directors asking me to do such dirty things! I can’t keep up with what the new girls are doing these days! I might be kicked out of these roles!”

Alaska swaggered over and lay a gloved hand on her friends shoulder, whom was taking to re-doing her hair; frustrated and careless as the brush got tangled in her curly golden mane.

“Nothing wrong with getting a little down and dirty!” Alaska wiggled her eyebrows naughtily as she took the brush from her friend’s grasp and raked it through her hair with a lot more care than she showed for her own hair. “I do it all the time!”

Alaska had gotten most of her roles not only because of her vast talent, but also because she was one of the few actresses in Hollywood who wasn’t a complete prude. She could make the same dirty jokes that the men made, she’d flirt and talk dirty, all while wearing the most gorgeous and most revealing, sexual dresses on camera, simply because she didn’t care!

“Alaska, I can’t be like you!” Alyssa whined as she powdered her face, not taking her eyes away from the mirror on her vanity. “Ru wants me to make the most horrendous, foul jokes! The kind you hear in bars from those drunk men! And I can’t flirt with men on camera the way you do! Oh lord, I’m gonna’ lose all my roles, I don’t know what to do!”

She was pretty sure she’d get fired from this job now that she’d thrown quite the tantrum. This was it, this was the final stop; the last straw. This was the end of the acting legend that was Miss Edwards. Alaska placed the brush back down on the vanity and helped her dear friend up from her chair.

“I’ll show you what to do honey!” Alaska slowly started to strip off her feather boa, scatting and singing a burlesque tune as she did a small ‘pretend’ strip-tease for Alyssa, pretending to take her dress off by shimmying the sleeves down her shoulders. Alyssa blushed and fanned herself, her prudish, kept-in diva-esque nature wasn’t used to being so open like that.

“Alaska, stop it! I can’t do that to anyone in front of a camera! “

“Why not? If it pays the bills, honey, then it pays the bills, owhhh!”

Alyssa groaned and rolled her eyes. Maybe Alaska was right. If you want directors to hire you, then you have to play their game. She sat back down on the velvet loveseat and looked Alaska up and down as she stood there. She wasn’t Alaska, even if she was right, this wasn’t for her.

Alaska pulled the sleeves of her dress back up and swayed her hips a little bit, her foot starting to tap out a rhythm against the floor. “What ever happened to Miss Edwards? She could dance, she could sing, make the biggest theatre ring; ‘Lyssa could do most anything; whatever happened to Miss Edwards?”

Alyssa cocked her head as she watched Alaska dance about as she sang. She almost wanted to stop her, not feeling the need to be reminded of her failing career but the blonde wasn’t doing it in a reprimanding manner; she didn’t sound as terrible as the headlines in the news did.

“Whatever happened to Miss Edwards? When she’d walk down the street, all the world would lie at her feet. There was no one half as sweet! What happened to Miss Edwards? I see her old movies on TV, and they are always a thrill for me! My Daddy said I could be just like her; well, I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish I were!”

Alaska sang truth, the reason she was even in this business was because she’d seen Miss Edwards strut about the screen in black and white when she was no older than 6. Despite Alyssa being double her age, she’d always looked up at her senior; she still did.

She was so dramatic when she acted but, it was so right; despite being really over the top. Alaska loved it, so seeing her so down and afraid that she wouldn’t be able to keep up was horrible. Sure, she was hysterical all the time, but this was different, this was sad.

“Whatever happened to Miss Edwards? To her smile, her golden hair? Why must everything be so unfair? Is there no one left to care what really happened to Miss Edwardsss?”

Alyssa felt herself tear up a little bit as Alaska knelt down in front of her and took her hands in her own, nails scratching at the back of her hands. “Here’s what happened to Miss Edwards,” Alyssa croaked back, lips stretching into a sad smile.

“She didn’t grow up. She just grew old. She was waiting for that big day the papers said would come. That’s what happened to Miss Edwards.” Alyssa sighed as she recognized a glint of compassion in Alaska’s eyes.

“Alaska… I’m getting too old for this industry. Director Ru is not only asking me to flirt with men on camera…he wants me to flirt with women too!” Alyssa squirmed nervously, she never felt comfortable being so sexual with men or women. Sure, she’d done it a fair few times but that was personal, relationships and work were two separate things. At least, that was what she had always thought to be true.

Alaska stood and pulled Alyssa close; spinning her around and dipping her as if they were dancing like Fred and Ginger, she planted a big kiss smack on her lips. This left Alyssa stunned, green eyes wide with shock.

“I’d rather kiss a real woman than go back to working at the clinic!” Alaska crooned, tossing her head back and laughing. Alyssa’s blush deepened as she got more nervous and uncomfortable.

“Miss Edwardsss, you say you’re old but you’re not; last week the papers said you looked no older than 20! Why are you so afraid, hmmm?”

Alyssa shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess I just got nervous, it’s silly.”

She straightened her back and turned around, facing away from Alaska. She was being ridiculous, and it had cost her this role! A big one! Internally she reprimanded and scolded herself thoroughly before turning to face Alaska again.

“You’re right…” she said, embarrassed. She didn’t want to have to be forced to be sexy to keep her job, she had always been known as classy and elegant, but if being sexy was what she had to do, then so be it. Alaska wrapped her feather boa around her shoulders and fixed the big white feather in her hat.

“Listen to me doll, I got a big audition coming up for a new movie and they still have roles that need to be cast. They’re sexy, big time roles that could really get your name back in the headlights. For all that’s best, let’s just say Ru can stick this movie up his ya’ know and we go get ourselves a better role? You in?”

Alyssa shuffled her petite feet nervously before she nodded with determination.

“I’m in!”


End file.
